Strain measurement is important in mechanics, material science and engineering. Devices used for strain measurement include mechanical extensometers and electrical resistance strain gauges. Optical devices such as moiré, speckle and holography have recently been developed and may also be used. Optical devices are whole-field, non-contact and sensitive methods for static and dynamic strain measurement. However, most optical devices provide contours of displacement components which need to be processed to obtain the distribution of strain and stress. For example, moiré interferometry uses a high frequency (typically 1200 lines/mm) diffraction grating replicated onto the specimen to map the whole field deformation in two perpendicular directions. The technique was extended to micron-level spatial resolution capability using a fiber optic based Micro-Moiré Interferometer (MMI). Numerical and optical schemes have been proposed to provide strain indications from these deformation maps.
However, the ubiquitous electrical resistance strain gauge is still popular since they can directly measure strain at a specific point.
Optical diffraction principles were proposed as an alternative by directly determining strain using a shift of a diffracted beam. Such Optical Diffraction Strain Sensors (ODSS) avoid the difficulty in fringe pattern interpretation associated with most optical techniques. With the advent of sensitive Position Sensing Detectors (PSD), the capabilities of the ODSS rival that of an electrical resistance strain gauge. However, as with the electrical strain gauge, the ODSS is still a point measurement scheme. Therefore, it has not been able to compete with the well-established electrical strain gauge.
In the paper “Optical Strain Sensor Using Position-Sensitive Detector and Diffraction Grating: Error Analysis” by Asundi and Zhao (Opt. Eng. 39(6) June 2000 at pages 1645 to 1651), the contents of which are hereby incorporated in their entirety as if disclosed herein, there is disclosed a strain sensor having a single incident light beam, and two detectors that is also able to detect strain at a single point only.
To have multi channel strain sensor where strains can be simultaneously and directly measured at many points requires a myriad of wires and data acquisition systems.